Wilmot Evans’ Service Records, 1909-1916

1909 – 1910

Member of Officers’ Training Corps, Shrewsbury School : Jul 1909

Shrewsbury School Officers’ Training Corps, Wolseley Park, 1909. Wilmot Evans is in front

Cadet, The Royal Military College, Sandhurst : Sep 1909 – Jul 1910

Public Schools Officers’ Training Corps, Aldershot, 1910. Wilmot Evans in the last row

• Joined the Infantry Company’s Junior Division on 8 Sep 1909 and Senior Division on 2 Feb 1910
• Qualified and recommended for Commissions in Cavalry, Infantry and Indian Army in Jul 1910

2nd Lieutenant, the South Staffordshire Regiment : 5 Oct 1910

Wilmot Evans’ British Army Commission Paper, signed on 30 Sep 1910, appointed from 5 Oct 1910

• Gazetted on 4 Oct 1910

Devonport : 5 Oct 1910 – 9 Feb 1911

• Joined the 1st Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment at the time quartered in Devonport under orders of 8th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Division

1911 – 1912

Gibraltar : 13 Feb 1911 – 14 Jan 1913

Officers of the 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment, Gibraltar, Jan 1912. Wilmot Evans is standing first on the left

• Was with the 1st Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment in Gibraltar
• Performed at the Presentation of Colours to the Battalion by King George V on 31 Jan 1912

1913

South Africa : 3 Feb 1913 – 21 Aug 1914

Officers of the 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment, Pietermaritzburg, 1913/14. Wilmot Evans is in the row one from the back in the middle

• Served with the 1st Battalion of the South Staffordshire in Pietermaritzburg

Lieutenant, the South Staffordshire Regiment : 9 Apr 1913

• Gazetted on 25 Apr 1913

1914

Lyndhurst : 19 Sep 1914 – 4 Oct 1914

• Returned with the Battalion to England landing at Southampton on 19 Sep 1914
• Moved to Lyndhurst, New Forest where the 1st Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment came under orders of 22nd Brigade, 7th Division

Western Front : 6 Oct 1914 –

• Landed with the Battalion at Zeebrugge, Belgium on 6 Oct 1914
• On 19 Oct was engaged in actions of the First Battle of Ypres. By the end of the Battle, out of 1100 officers and men comprising the Battalion on 6 Oct, only 78 remained

Wounded in the First Battle of Ypres : 26 Oct 1914

• During the battle practically every officer of the Battalion was either killed or wounded

1915

Wounded in the Battle of Festubert : 16 May 1915

Mentioned in Dispatches : 31 May 1915

• Gazetted on 18 Jun 1915

Military Cross : 23 Jun 1915

• Gazetted on 22 Jun 1915
• Received the Medal on 12 Aug at Buckingham Palace

Wilmot Evans’ Military Cross, awarded on 23 Jun 1915, received on 12 Aug 1915 at Buckingham Palace

Jersey : Aug 1915 – Mar 1916

• Joined the 4th Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment which was on mobilisation in Jersey

Wounded officers of the South Staffordshire Regiment, Jersey, 1915. Wilmot Evans is sitting second on the right

Captain, the South Staffordshire Regiment : 12 Aug 1915

• Gazetted on 28 Sep 1915

1916

Back to Western Front : Mar 1916

• With the 4th Battalion, later attached to the 1/6th Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment

Killed at Gommecourt : 1 Jul 1916

• Originally was reported wounded and missing
• Had last been seen in or near the German trenches on the first day of the Battle of the Somme
• Listed on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme with no known grave